Taunton police investigating mother's abuse allegations against school staff member

Monday

Mar 31, 2014 at 5:23 PMMar 31, 2014 at 6:48 PM

TAUNTON — A Taunton mother’s abuse allegations against a public school staff member are under investigation by city police.

School officials, however, say they have investigated but found no evidence of wrongdoing.

“I can confirm that we have a complaint from a parent about a staff member injuring a child, which has been thoroughly investigated,” said Taunton Schools Superintendent Julie Hackett. “We take all investigatory matters in the Taunton Public Schools very seriously, and all procedures and protocols were followed in this case.”

The mother, Kristine Melo, has photographs of her 7-year-old daughter’s bruised wrist.

She says her daughter, whose name has been withheld by the Taunton Daily Gazette, was “assaulted and injured by an unknown teacher on Monday, March 24.”

Melo said she witnessed the alleged incident. Her daughter was treated at Morton Hospital for a sprained wrist.

“My daughter suffered injuries to her right wrist and hand and was treated at the emergency room and placed in a wrist splint,” Melo said.

Melo posted her version of events and photos of her daughter’s injuries on her Facebook page late last week.

She said she stopped by East Taunton Elementary School around 12:50 p.m. last Monday after she was notified that her daughter injured her ankle.

“Per my daughter’s request, I went to the school with Ibuprofen, water, sneakers and a wrap for her injured ankle,” Melo wrote. “The school’s front office checked me in and gave me a visitor’s pass.”

After meeting with her daughter and the nurse, her daughter was allowed to return to class.

Melo said she accompanied her daughter down the hall and stopped in the foyer.

“I gave her a hug; she turned left and walked down the hall towards her class,” Melo wrote. “I stood, as always, watching her walk down to her class. At this time, an unknown teacher … walked past me with another student and went down the same hallway.”

She said her daughter turned around and attempted to walk back to her.

“I witnessed this teacher, who was unknown to both me and my daughter, blocking (my daughter) from moving down the hall by repeatedly moving side to side,” Melo wrote. “I then witnessed this teacher place her hands on my daughter and drag her down the hall. (She) started crying and screaming. She wiggled free, but the unknown teacher grabbed her right wrist. As (my daughter) cried and screamed in pain and fear, struggling to get away from this stranger and get to the safety of her mother, this unknown teacher aggressively pulled and twisted (her) right wrist to force her in the opposite direction.”

Melo said she hurried down the hall and told the staff member, “Get your hands off my child.”

“Once (she) was safely in my arms, I informed the unknown teacher that she was ‘not allowed to place hands on students,’” Melo recalled.

She said the teacher replied by saying, “I didn’t know,” and walked away.

Melo said she spoke to the principal. She reported the incident to Taunton police. And she sought treatment for her daughter’s injury.

“We arrived at Morton Hospital’s Emergency Room at approximately 5:24 p.m.,” Melo said. “(My daughter) explained how her wrist became injured to several staff members. Due to the severity of pain, the swelling of her wrist, and the bruise on the underside of her hand, the doctor decided an X-Ray was needed. It was determined that (her) right wrist was severely sprained.”

The principal and several school representatives, including the building’s principal, have refused to reveal the staff member’s identity to Melo.

Taunton police Chief Edward Walsh said an investigation into the incident has not been concluded.

“All I can say at this point: There is an ongoing investigation,” Walsh said.

Hackett said that the school’s “investigation yielded no evidence of wrongdoing by the employee in question — a person who has an exemplary track record in the Taunton Public Schools.”

“The Taunton Police Department came to the same conclusion as the school department, and found no evidence of wrong-doing,” Hackett wrote in an email. “There’s always another side to the story, but unfortunately public school officials aren’t allowed to share theirs. As much as I would like to discuss the details with you, I’m not at liberty to do so because we’re restricted by privacy laws.”